Sunday, February 16, 2014

Round trip St Petersburg - Tallahassee for $1.5 K

"A few weeks before Thanksgiving, staff at the Loving Care assisted living facility in St Petersburg realized something had changed in Malcolm Ramsey's life.

Relatives who had never paid much attention to Ramsey, 55 and mentally incompetent, suddenly started showing up in droves. Bulging bags from T.J. Maxx and Bealls filled his half of a tiny, shared bedroom. Boxes of new athletic shoes — Nike, New Balance, K-Swiss — towered against the wall.

Then there were the rumors that Ramsey had hit it big in the Florida Lottery.

Ramsey's legal guardian got involved. So did St Petersburg police, an adult protective services worker and, eventually, a judge. And slowly, the story came out.

Sometime in October, Ramsey had won "$500 a week for life" on a scratch-off Florida Lottery ticket. With the help of a cab driver, he had gotten an ID, a copy of his birth certificate and a ride to Tallahassee to claim the prize. He took it as a lump-sum payout — $403,288........."